Do You Need the Bible to Get to Heaven?

I was speaking at an event recently and this question came up, Do you need the Bible to get to Heaven? 

I said no. 

Don’t get me wrong. I love God’s Word. It’s full of directives and suggestions to make my life work. It’s packed with comforting verses and encouraging words. There are hundreds of miraculous accounts to inspire and encourage.

I’ve read the Bible cover to cover multiple times and have actively studied the Word of God for decades.

I once drove ahead of a tornado to rescue my Bible from destruction because a lifetime of wisdom is written in the margins of that book! It’s one of my greatest treasures, but I don’t worship it. God is not comprised of Father, Son and Holy Bible. 

I believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God, but we don’t need the Bible to get to heaven. The thief on the cross didn’t have a Bible. Millions of Chinese believers have no Bible. I don’t need a Bible to get to heaven.  I need Jesus to get to heaven.

The Bible can’t save me!

When we read the Bible, it’s not so much that we gain knowledge, it’s so that we meet the Author. We don’t need to know the letter of the law as much as we need to understand God’s great love for us. When we put more emphasis on the Bible than the author, we can run into trouble. Holy Spirit’s will tell us all the things that Jesus wants us to know. (John 14:26)

The Bible teaches me all about Jesus’ coming, birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension. It recounts the way or through whom I access heaven, but the book itself doesn’t save me.

It’s the author who saves me.

I love God’s Word because I love God. I read it and study it so I know God more intimately and understand his character. I love God’s Word, but it only point me to Jesus. Only by trusting and following the Author and Perfecter of my faith am I saved. 

Read the Bible, but worship the Author. 

Prayer: Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit and and keep me focused on you as I study your Word. Teach me about you. Teach me how to live. Help me to know and trust and follow you to the end of my days. In Jesus Name. Amen